“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:10 NLT)
Sin is helpful to Satan for many reasons as it relates to human beings, but its ultimate goal is to rob us of eternal life with Jesus in heaven. Eternal life isn’t the issue. Why? Because every person who has ever been or ever will be born will live forever. The only question is where?
We don’t have the capacity to understand this fully, but every sin we commit is an open door for Satan to steal something valuable from us, to kill something important to us, or to destroy something meaningful in us. But the greatest tragedy isn’t how sin affects us, but the toll it takes on God’s reputation. If Satan can cause our sin to deflect God’s glory by redirecting His glory to something or someone else, He’s effectively robbed God of that which is His due.
Thomas Watson wrote: “There is justice in hell, but sin is the most unjust thing. It would rob God of his glory, Christ of his purchase, the soul of its happiness.” God deserves honor, praise, glory, and worship, not because of what He does, but for who He is.
The God of creation doesn’t simply do good things, He is the embodiment of all that’s good. Goodness is derived from God. If God didn’t exist, there would be no goodness. He is perfectly just. He doesn’t simply act and through His actions demonstrate justice, He embodies every principle that defines what justice is. God doesn’t simply act in loving ways, He is love.
If you’re ever in a conversation with an atheist, ask them if they think it’s okay for someone to rob them or to move into their house and claim it as their own? They will likely say no and cite laws against those kinds of things. But ask them what the basis of law is? Where is derived the idea of right and wrong, good and evil? Without God there’s no basis for these concepts, because He is the Author of what is good, right, and just.
Evil can’t exist without good. The presence of good defines what is evil. Sin’s goal is to muddy the waters of good and evil, making them virtually indistinguishable. Thus, the proverbial “gray” areas with which we do battle every day. What’s right? What’s wrong? It seems they’re up for grabs in our culture today. It’s the work of the evil one with whom we fight every day.
Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Sin’s goal is to either blind us to spiritual warfare or delude us into believing there’s nothing we can do to fight against it.
Why do you think God gave us His armor and the 24-7 protection of His indwelling Holy Spirit? Following Jesus isn’t rocket-science, but neither is it for anyone not willing to make the effort to understand and follow God’s will and ways. Behind the loving offer of forgiveness and new life in Jesus, is God’s expectation that we experience transformation.
And yes, granted, God does the lion’s share of the process of transformation, some of which is immediate, while much of it is over time. But He will never force us to do or be anything against our will. He will not make us read the Bible, pray, keep His commandments, be sensitive to His voice, attend church or be identified with a body of believers, witness for Him, care about the needs of others, or obey Him. Those are things we learn to do and desire over time.
Sin’s goal is to prevent us from coming to Christ in the first place, but if he can’t do that, he’ll be diligent about blocking our way as we seek to learn and become what God desires.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 